The Old Fourth Ward, often abbreviated O4W, is an
intown
''InTown Westchester'' is a regional lifestyle magazine that covers Westchester County, New York, and is published by Gannett and The Journal News
''The Journal News'' is a newspaper in New York State serving the New York counties of Westche ...
neighborhood on the
eastside of
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
, Georgia, United States. The neighborhood is best known as the location of the
Martin Luther King Jr. historic site.
Geography
The Old Fourth Ward's borders:
* West:
Piedmont Avenue, across which is
Downtown Atlanta
Downtown Atlanta is the central business district of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The largest of the city's three commercial districts (Midtown Atlanta, Midtown and Buckhead being the others), it is the location of many corporate and region ...
* East: the
BeltLine
The Atlanta Beltline is long multi-use corridor on a former railway corridor which encircles the core of Atlanta, Georgia. The Atlanta Beltline is designed to reconnect neighborhoods and communities historically divided and marginalized by in ...
, across which are
Poncey–Highland
Poncey–Highland is an Intown Atlanta, intown neighborhood on the Eastside (Atlanta), east side of Atlanta, Georgia, located south of Virginia–Highland. It is so named because it is near the intersection of east/west Ponce de Leon Avenue and n ...
and
Inman Park
Inman Park is an intown neighborhood on the east side of Atlanta, Georgia, and its first planned suburb. It was named for Samuel M. Inman.
History
Today's neighborhood of Inman Park includes areas that were originally designated:
* Inman Par ...
* North:
Ponce de Leon Avenue
Ponce de Leon Avenue ( ), often simply called Ponce, provides a link between Atlanta, Georgia, Atlanta, Decatur, Georgia, Decatur, Clarkston, Georgia, Clarkston, and Stone Mountain, Georgia. It was named for Ponce de Leon Springs (Atlanta), Po ...
, across which is
Midtown Atlanta
Midtown Atlanta, or Midtown for short, is a Urban area, high-density commercial and residential neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The exact geographical extent of the area is ill-defined due to differing definitions used ...
* South:
MARTA Green Line and
Oakland Cemetery, across which are
Grant Park and
Cabbagetown
The exception is the area west of
Boulevard
A boulevard is a type of broad avenue planted with rows of trees, or in parts of North America, any urban highway or wide road in a commercial district.
In Europe, boulevards were originally circumferential roads following the line of former ...
and south of
Freedom Parkway
Freedom Park is one of the largest city parks in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The park forms a cross shape with the axes crossing at the Carter Center. The park stretches west-east from Parkway Drive, just west of Boulevard, to the interse ...
which, although historically part of Atlanta's Fourth Ward (see
Atlanta annexations and wards), is considered a separate recognized neighborhood called
Sweet Auburn
The Sweet Auburn Historic District is a historic African-American neighborhood along and surrounding Auburn Avenue, east of downtown Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The name Sweet Auburn was coined by John Wesley Dobbs, referring to the "rich ...
.
The neighborhood can be divided into three areas, with Freedom Parkway and Boulevard serving as dividing lines.
Northeast
The area north of Freedom Parkway and east of Boulevard is home to the 2.1 million sq. ft.
Ponce City Market
Ponce City Market is a mixed-use development located in a former Sears catalogue facility in Atlanta, with national and local retail anchors, restaurants, a food hall, boutiques and offices, and residential units. It is located adjacent to the ...
, a
mixed-use development
Mixed use is a type of urban development, urban design, urban planning and/or a zoning classification that blends multiple uses, such as residential, commercial, cultural, institutional, or entertainment, into one space, where those functions ...
, and
Historic Fourth Ward Park, a product of the BeltLine project. In the 2010s, many new
multi-family developments have been built bordering the park, including BOHO4W, AMLI Ponce Park, and 755 North. The BeltLine
Eastside Trail is the eastern border of this area.
Northwest
The area west of Boulevard and north of Freedom Parkway was once called Bedford Pine, and, prior to the 1960s, it was a slum called
Buttermilk Bottom
Buttermilk Bottom, also known as Buttermilk Bottoms or Black Bottom, was an African-American neighborhood in central Atlanta, centered on the area where the Atlanta Civic Center now stands in the Old Fourth Ward. It was considered a slum area, h ...
. In the 1960s, slum housing gave way to massive urban renewal and the construction of large projects, such as the
Atlanta Civic Center
The Atlanta Civic Center is a theater (building), theater located in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The theater, which seats 4,600, regularly hosted touring productions of Broadway musicals, concerts, seminars, comedy acts, and high s ...
, the
Georgia Power
Georgia Power is an electric utility headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was established as the Georgia Railway and Power Company and began operations in 1902 running streetcars in Atlanta as a successor to the Atlanta Consol ...
headquarters, and public housing projects. Bedford Pine was officially absorbed into the Old Fourth Ward neighborhood, whose boundaries officially extend west to Piedmont Avenue.
Boulevard
Boulevard
A boulevard is a type of broad avenue planted with rows of trees, or in parts of North America, any urban highway or wide road in a commercial district.
In Europe, boulevards were originally circumferential roads following the line of former ...
itself, in the 1890s described as "one of the most desirable residence streets in the city,"
has for decades been notorious citywide as a center of crime and drug activity, as well as the highest concentration of Section 8 housing in the Southeastern United States. However, in January 2012, City Councilman
Kwanza Hall revealed a seven-point "Year of Boulevard" strategy to revitalize the corridor.
Southeast

The largest concentration of single family homes are found south of Freedom Parkway, especially south of Irwin Street, and the area is perhaps the most eclectic part of O4W. Auburn Avenue and Old Wheat Streets are in character extensions of the historic African-American business and residential district,
Sweet Auburn
The Sweet Auburn Historic District is a historic African-American neighborhood along and surrounding Auburn Avenue, east of downtown Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The name Sweet Auburn was coined by John Wesley Dobbs, referring to the "rich ...
, and of the
Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site.
The Ward’s entertainment options in the southeast section of the neighborhood are primarily on Edgewood Avenue and Decatur Street, where there is a concentration of bars and restaurants.
The eastern border is the
BeltLine
The Atlanta Beltline is long multi-use corridor on a former railway corridor which encircles the core of Atlanta, Georgia. The Atlanta Beltline is designed to reconnect neighborhoods and communities historically divided and marginalized by in ...
Eastside Trail, lined with repurposed industrial buildings such as Studioplex, now used for residential and retail use.
History
What is now the Old Fourth Ward is a smaller version of the historic
Fourth Ward political area in place until the 1950s when the city changed to a district system. It is one of the oldest sections of the city, with the westernmost blocks developing soon after the Civil War. Different parts of the ward were, at different times, considered white, black, or mixed-race areas. From the 1910s onward, as Atlanta politicians moved to institutionalize racially segregated residential areas, Old Fourth Ward continued as a patchwork of whites living as close neighbors with blacks.
The Ward was home to the spectrum of races but also socioeconomic classes: the foremost thoroughfare in today's Old Fourth Ward,
Boulevard
A boulevard is a type of broad avenue planted with rows of trees, or in parts of North America, any urban highway or wide road in a commercial district.
In Europe, boulevards were originally circumferential roads following the line of former ...
, was in the 1890s called one of the most desirable residential streets in the city,
even as the
Buttermilk Bottom
Buttermilk Bottom, also known as Buttermilk Bottoms or Black Bottom, was an African-American neighborhood in central Atlanta, centered on the area where the Atlanta Civic Center now stands in the Old Fourth Ward. It was considered a slum area, h ...
slum festered less than half a mile west. However, after the
Great Atlanta fire of 1917
The Great Atlanta Fire of 1917 began just after noon on 21 May 1917 in the Old Fourth Ward of Atlanta, Georgia. It is unclear just how the fire started, but it was fueled by hot temperatures and strong winds which propelled the fire. The fire, ...
, Boulevard's grand houses were destroyed and replaced by brick apartment buildings.
As with most of
Intown Atlanta
Intown Atlanta (or as an adjective, "intown") is a loosely-defined term used by the residents of Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, in the United States. It is most frequently used in Atlanta metropolitan area, metro Atlanta to designate an ...
, the Old Fourth Ward declined precipitously during the 1950s and 1960s as wealthier residents moved further out from central neighborhoods. Streets, houses and businesses that sat upon the land that is now
Freedom Parkway
Freedom Park is one of the largest city parks in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The park forms a cross shape with the axes crossing at the Carter Center. The park stretches west-east from Parkway Drive, just west of Boulevard, to the interse ...
were also razed to make way for a freeway that was
never built. What was once a consistent and dense grid pattern of streets is now difficult to recognize, with Freedom Parkway occupying what had once been multiple city blocks.
Boulevard in particular witnessed a steady decline. The road was lined with apartment buildings constructed after the
Great Atlanta fire of 1917
The Great Atlanta Fire of 1917 began just after noon on 21 May 1917 in the Old Fourth Ward of Atlanta, Georgia. It is unclear just how the fire started, but it was fueled by hot temperatures and strong winds which propelled the fire. The fire, ...
, most of which were
section 8 housing
Section 8 of the Housing Act of 1937 (), commonly known as Section 8, provides rental housing assistance to low-income households in the United States by paying private landlords on behalf of these tenants. Approximately 68% of this assistan ...
. Boulevard became infamous throughout Atlanta and beyond as a haven of drug activity, prostitution, gangs, and other crime, a reputation that endured into the 2010s, despite revitalization efforts growing in the area. However, as more Section 8 housing was demolished and investors moved into the neighborhood, the area's amenities, demand, reputation, and public safety significantly improved.
Gentrification of the Old Fourth Ward began in the 1980s, and continued at a more rapid pace since the 2000s. New apartment and condo complexes with ground-floor retail sprung up, particularly along the
BeltLine
The Atlanta Beltline is long multi-use corridor on a former railway corridor which encircles the core of Atlanta, Georgia. The Atlanta Beltline is designed to reconnect neighborhoods and communities historically divided and marginalized by in ...
, Ponce de Leon Avenue, North Avenue, Highland Avenue, and Boulevard. The area, which was majority Black for many decades, has seen a huge influx of diversity in recent decades. As of December 2024,
Niche estimated Old Fourth Ward is 51% White, 36% Black, 5% Asian, 5% Hispanic, and 3% Other/Multi-Racial.
Trails and parks

Two of the city's iconic walking and biking trails intersect in the neighborhood:
*
BeltLine
The Atlanta Beltline is long multi-use corridor on a former railway corridor which encircles the core of Atlanta, Georgia. The Atlanta Beltline is designed to reconnect neighborhoods and communities historically divided and marginalized by in ...
Eastside Trail
*
Freedom Parkway
Freedom Park is one of the largest city parks in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The park forms a cross shape with the axes crossing at the Carter Center. The park stretches west-east from Parkway Drive, just west of Boulevard, to the interse ...
park and trail
Historic Fourth Ward Park and Skate Park opened in phases starting in 2011 and includes an attractive retention pond. The area around the park has since mushroomed with large apartment buildings.
Other parks include:
*
Central Park
Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...
*
Renaissance Park and Dog Park
* Selena Butler Park
Culture
The Old Fourth Ward is one of Atlanta's best neighborhoods for viewing street art. Some of the best locations to view street art in the Old Fourth Ward include Decatur St., Edgewood Ave. and on and around the Eastside Trail of the
Atlanta Beltline. Th
Outerspace Projectis responsible for bringing many works of street art to the Old Fourth Ward. Several examples of street art in the Old Fourth Ward are found on th
Atlanta Street Art Map
Other points of interest

*
Ponce City Market
Ponce City Market is a mixed-use development located in a former Sears catalogue facility in Atlanta, with national and local retail anchors, restaurants, a food hall, boutiques and offices, and residential units. It is located adjacent to the ...
*
Edgewood Avenue
Edgewood Avenue is a street in Atlanta, Georgia, United States which runs from Five Points in Downtown Atlanta, eastward through the Old Fourth Ward. The avenue runs in the direction of the Edgewood neighborhood, and stops just short of it ...
around Boulevard has become a bar and restaurant district after decades of neglect, prior to 2013 having been known for "drug traffic, petty crime, and homeless hideaways".
Sister Louisa's Church of the Living Room and Ping Pong Emporium, a bar, is a landmark here.
* Industrial architecture along the
BeltLine
The Atlanta Beltline is long multi-use corridor on a former railway corridor which encircles the core of Atlanta, Georgia. The Atlanta Beltline is designed to reconnect neighborhoods and communities historically divided and marginalized by in ...
Eastside Trail, including the
DuPre Excelsior Mill and
National NuGrape Company lofts
* part of the
Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site, including King's Birth Home
*
Atlanta Civic Center
The Atlanta Civic Center is a theater (building), theater located in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The theater, which seats 4,600, regularly hosted touring productions of Broadway musicals, concerts, seminars, comedy acts, and high s ...
*
Edward C. Peters House
*''
Homage to King
''Homage to King'' is a 1996 sculpture by Barcelona artist Xavier Medina Campeny, commissioned as a gift from the Spanish host city of the 1992 Summer Olympics to the host of the 1996 Summer Olympics. It is located at the southwest corner of Fr ...
'' sculpture
*
WSB-TV tower
The WSB-TV tower is a guyed mast broadcast tower in the Old Fourth Ward neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia, immediately adjacent to Freedom Parkway and the Historic Fourth Ward Park skate park. The tower was built in 1950, and at its completion ...
* The
Carter Center
The Carter Center is a nongovernmental, nonprofit organization founded in 1982 by former U.S. president Jimmy Carter. He and his wife Rosalynn Carter partnered with Emory University after his defeat in the 1980 United States presidential ele ...
borders the neighborhood
*The Jackson Street Bridge is one of Atlanta's most iconic landmarks for photos
Transportation
The
MARTA Green Line runs east-west at the south end of the neighborhood, although there is no station in O4W itself.
King Memorial station
King Memorial is an elevated subway station in Atlanta, Georgia, serving the Blue and Green Lines of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) rail system. It is named for Martin Luther King Jr. whose church and burial place ar ...
is to the west and
Inman Park / Reynoldstown station is to the east. The
Atlanta Streetcar
The Atlanta Streetcar (also known as the Downtown Loop) is a streetcar line in Atlanta, Georgia. Testing on the line began in summer 2014 with passenger service beginning as scheduled on December 30, 2014. In , the line had rides, or about p ...
line starts just west of the neighborhood. Several
MARTA
Marta may refer to:
People
* Marta (given name), a feminine given name
* Märta, a feminine given name
* Marta (surname)
* Marta (footballer) (born 1986), Brazilian professional footballer
Places
* Marta (river), an Italian river that flow ...
bus lines serve the neighborhood. Relay provides
bike share
A bicycle-sharing system, bike share program, public bicycle scheme, or public bike share (PBS) scheme, is a shared transport service where bicycles are available for shared use by individuals at low cost.
The programmes themselves include bot ...
.
References
External links
Bedford Pine Neighborhood Photograph Collection, 1970-1971from the
Atlanta History Center
The Atlanta History Center is a history museum and research center located in the Buckhead (Atlanta), Buckhead district of Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The Museum was founded in 1926, and has a large campus featuring historic gardens a ...
Old Fourth Ward organizations
Fourth Ward West (FWW) until 2012 known as Central Atlanta Neighbors (CAN) - covers north of the Baker-Highland connector (extension of Freedom Parkway), west of Boulevard to
Peachtree Street
Peachtree Street is one of several major streets running through the city of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Beginning at Five Points (Atlanta), Five Points in downtown Atlanta, it runs North through Midtown Atlanta, Midtown; a few blocks afte ...
thus including part of
Downtown Atlanta
Downtown Atlanta is the central business district of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The largest of the city's three commercial districts (Midtown Atlanta, Midtown and Buckhead being the others), it is the location of many corporate and region ...
)
Fourth Ward Alliance (on Facebook)- covers north of Freedom Parkway, east of Boulevard
Fourth Ward Neighbors- covers south of Freedom Parkway
About the Old Fourth Ward
*
ttps://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2011/12/01/travel/04SURFACING.html "Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Atlanta neighborhood on the upswing" (slideshow), ''New York Times'', December 4, 2011
{{Authority control
Neighborhoods in Atlanta